police traced the IP address to a location
Police arrested an Indian teenager after it was discovered that he killed his 12-year-old cousin.
The incident happened in Nagaur, Rajasthan.
It was discovered that the 16-year-old amassed a debt from playing the likes of PUBG and Garena Free Fire, paying for the optional extras within the games.
In a desperate bid for money, he strangled his cousin to death before pretending to be someone else online, claiming that the boy had been kidnapped and demanding a ransom.
The matter came to light on December 8, 2021, when Praveen Sharma went missing along with his mobile phone.
His cousin Pannalal Sharma filed a missing persons’ complaint with the police.
He told officers that Praveen had a habit of playing mobile games. Due to this information, the police used cyber technology to search for the boy.
Meanwhile, Praveen’s uncle, who lived in Assam, began receiving messages on social media from a man, saying that he had abducted the boy and taken him to Delhi.
He demanded Rs. 5 Lakh (£4,900) in exchange for Praveen.
Family members subsequently told officers about the ransom demands.
During the investigation, police traced the IP address to a location in Praveen’s home village of Dhudila.
Officers soon discovered that the ransom messages were being sent from the missing mobile phone. The phone had been using another phone as a wifi hotspot.
Officers then began to suspect Pannalal.
When questioned, the teenager admitted that he was responsible.
Pannalal explained that he was addicted to playing PUBG and Garena Free Fire, spending money on microtransactions in a bid to gain an advantage over other players.
However, because he kept losing, he continued to make more purchases, resulting in a large financial debt.
It was revealed that Pannalal borrowed money from locals and shopkeepers in order to fund his habit.
On the day of the murder, he had been out with his younger cousin. Desperate for money, the teenager strangled Praveen to death.
Pannalal took the mobile phone and buried the victim.
He discarded the SIM card and created a fake social media profile.
Using another phone as a wifi hotspot, he posed as a man and claimed that Praveen had been kidnapped.
He said that he would return the boy alive if he received Rs. 5 Lakh.
Following his admission, the teenager was detained.
Meanwhile, officers recovered the body from the riverbank.
A post-mortem is currently being conducted to determine the cause of death.
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